Automatic inflating device for life preservers



March 26, 1957 H'GBEE 2,786,593

AUTOMATIC INFLATING DEVICE FOR LIFE PRESERVERS Filed Nov. 1, 1954 43 45 39 EL 2 4/ /a 7 27 a9 Y; 3/ 23 39 43 I /9 I? 8 29 i HI I 39 4 40 4 42 1 5- INVENTOR.

43 gaff/7%! fl ybee United States Patent INFLATING DEVICE FOR LIFE PRESERVERS AUTOMATiC The present invention relates to gas filled life preservers, and more particularly to an inflating device to be employed for inflating life preservers and like inflatable members.

An object of the present invention is to provide an inflating device wherein a carbon dioxide cartridge is adapted to be punctured by relative movement between the cartridge and a puncturing needle, one of which is actuated by resiliently biased means initially held inthe compressed position by a keeper adapted to transmit the bias of the said means directly to the casing of the im flating device, said keeper being supported in its securing position by means of a soluble substance I I am aware that the prior art discloses carbon dioxide cartridge containing inflating devices which are actuated upon contact with water, which devices employ a water soluble pill for holding the means adapted to shift the carbon dioxide cartridge onto a puncturing needle to release the gas and inflate the associated member. In actual practice this has proven to be unsatisfactory due to the fact that the relatively large pressure required to hold the means for shifting the carbon dioxide cartridges is sufiicient so that any substantial jar to the device, such as when it is dropped, will cause the water soluble pill to be crushed or disintegrate and release the mechanism.

A further disadvantage of the prior art construction is that the time required for the dissolution of the soluble pill operates against the practical use of the life preserver since the pill must be compressed to an extremely hard condition to be capable of holding the firing means, and therefore is practical for use only upon one who is sufficiently skilled in swimming to maintain his head above water'a suflicient length of time to permitthe pill to dissolve and release the firing mechanism.

It is therefore another object of this invention to provide a detachable inflating device for an inflatable member which, for all practical purposes, operates instantaneously upon contact with water.

Various other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent during the course of the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which clearly disclose a preferred embodiment of the present invention and are supplied for the purpose of illustration only and not for limitation in construing the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of my present invention detachably secured to an inflatable member;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal crcss section on a plane defined by line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view on the plane of line2 --2 of Figure 1 and showing the keeper means and associated parts; and

Figure 413 a longitudinal cross section taken on the plane indicated at line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, it

Ratented Mar. 26, 1957 ice will be seen that vI have indicated a rubber or similar material air tight inflatable member 10, which may be shaped in any form desired, preferably that of a belt to be worn about the waist of a person and at one end thereof the inflatable member 10 is provided with a pair of metallic tubular inlets 11-11 which communicate with the interior of the inflatable member 10. It will be seen in Figure 2 that the inflatable member 10 is provided with a dividing web 12 which defines two air-tight cham i n the emb r The member 10 is hermetically sealed to the inlets 11 by means of nuts 14 which cooperate with the externally threaded peripheral faces of the tubes 11. Within the tubes 11 I provide spring biased check valves 15 which permit ingress of gas under pressure but prevent egress thereof a manner similar to that of a conventional tire valve.

he inflating device 16 is provided with a hollow casing 17 which has a pair of air-tight bores 18 of a size and cross section adapting them to receive a cartridge 19 of compressed gas. The present construction is disclosed to receive the conventional carbon dioxide cartridges which may be purchased on the open market.

-T he bores 18 are somewhat longer than the cartridges 19,, and permit the cartridges to be disposed at one end thereof. At their outer ends the bores 18 are internally threaded at 20 to threadedly receive the closure plugs 21 which hermetically seal the outer ends of the bores 1.;8 nd. Pr id a ba e a ains h ch P springs .2 are sih rs s tl- Iaward of e pan ion r n are presser feet 13 slidable in the bores and which are provided to bear against the cartridges 1) and shift thern nw b means of t b a of r n s .2.-

t it hm... a d? the eat ng 17 sea orts a pa r o puncturing ne d es 2. 9 t! ea h'bore di o e a the axes hi t s r r d s 1. as ha when. e sar t e 19 e s if ed in r ly. h v ne d e ente th m s o t e tr d s t hhh h e heta Pe m t n escape i th om sed as 1 The n edles a e su p ted Pe ated pla wh h a e W de pp ed. y pre ed fit, r h w e se ured in h nner ends o the r s 13. The perfor tions of the plates 25 communicate with bul con u 2. ha in t tab e int rn th ead d oll 2 t th i o t r en wh sh c ope at th he le 1 o se ure an c mmuni at tie ha es 18 w th h n ta m mbe 9,,

S rr d h eck 19- o the r rid e. I p o i s lin ket 2 h h b ean of the Pr ser feet .3 m y e y slide wi h n the. bore 18 an a e o u fici nt h c et s so tha when t e a e ea ed fro the cartridges 19. creates a pressure ahead of the gaskets 28, the gaskets are warped or deformed and their inwardly presented annular edges or corners seal against the internal face of the bores 18 and prevent leakage of a about th artr dges .9-, h ske also e en n a ed msvemsntsof th qartri e h h device. is rsta d or shake sev It is to be und rstood that the spring pressure 22 is suflicient to drive the cartridges 19 inwardly, causing the mouths to be punctured by the needles 24 and to maintain the cartridges in the forward position against the gas pressure created ahead thereof. However, it is not required that the cartridges remain in the forward position, for once they have been punctured they may return to the position shown in Figure 2 and the gas may still escape and pass through the conduit 26 of sleeve 11 into the inflatable member 10. Obviously, the cartridges 19 are interchangeable by removing the plugs 21, springs 22, and presser feet 23 from the outer ends of the bores 18, whereupon the cartridges may be rem-oved and new cartridges replaced.

Radially extending from each bore 18, I provide keeper I means 29 which are specifically designed and adapted to transmit the bias of springs 22 through presser feet 23 directly to the casing 17 when in the securing position, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Each keeper. constitutes a radially disposed pin 30 which has a crowned or camshaped inner end 31' and extends a sulficient-distance into its respective bore 18st) that a'portion of. its straight side face 32 contacts the marginal edge. portion of its respective presser'foot 23 at33, as seen in Figure3. .It will thus be seen that the bias of the presser foot 23 is trans-- mitted. through the pin 30 directly to' the casing 17, and since the straight side face is not removed from the bore 18, whenin the position shown in Figure 3, no longitudinal pressure is applied on the pin '30, excepting that supplied by the bias of spring 34 which bears against the casing 171at one end and against a flange 35 formed on the outer end of the pin 30.

Intermediate the pin 30 and the flange 35 is an enlarged portion 36 which defines a shoulder 37 adapted to bear against the annular collar 38 formed on the casings 17 and provide a gauge or stop to limit inward movement. of the pin 30 into. the bore 18. v p

"Encircling the stop 38 is an apertured sleeve" 39'externally threaded at its outer end and provi-dedtwith a plurality ofapertures 40in its side walls. The apertures 40 are provided to permit free flow of water into and out of the sleeve 39. A reticulate sleeve 41 is disposed within the sleeve 39 and is of sufficient diameter to encircle the flange 35 of the keeper mechanism'29r The sleeve 41 is provided with an'annular outwardly disposed flange '42 adapted to bear upon the outer edge face of the sleeve 39, and when the cap '43 is threaded onto the sleeve 39, the flange 42 is gripped between the cap 43 and the edge of the sleeve 39 and is thereby held in place.

It will benoted that-the cap 43 is provided with a boss 44-which extends inwardly into the sleeve 39, and is provided for the purpose of compressing the granular or physically similar water soluble substance 45'.

The granular soluble substance 45, which presently is found to bemost effective, is sodium acetyl salicylate, commonly marketed under the trade name Alka-Seltzer. However, other soluble substances may be employed, the important feature being that they maintain suflicient body strength to support the pin 30 against the expansion bias of spring 34. By-tests I have proven that the granular soluble substance 45 will react in from two to five seconds sufficiently to permit spring 34' to remove the pin 30 from the bore 18, so that presser foot 23' by action of the spring 22 may force the compressed gas cartridge 19 inwardly onto the puncturing needle 24, where it is opened, and the gas pressure great enough to overcome the spring pressure of valve 15 and fill the inflatable member.

The inflatable member is compartmented as disclosed, so that in the event one compartment is punctured the other will still act as a float to preserve the life of one wearing the device.

It will be noted that the casing 17 is provided with a buckle 17, and this is for the purpose of cooperating with the opposed end (not shown) of the inflatable member 10,

so that the member may be buckled around the waist of a person as a belt in its deflated condition where it is out of the way and comfortable to wear. may be worn under the clothing if desired.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an inflatable life preserver, a detachable inflating device adapted to communicate therewith comprising a hollow casing reciprocally containing an interchangeable compressed gas cartridge; a puncturing needle fixed in said casing; resiliently biased means including a reciprocal presser foot adapted for shifting said cartridge onto said needle to puncture said cartridge and release said gas; keeper means operably' associated with said resiliently biasedmeans alternately movable to keeping and releasing position with relation to said presser foot; said keeper means being adapted to transmit the bias of said resilient means directly to said casing and being urged toward said releasing position; and a water soluble substance disposed externally of said casing and adapted to preclude movement of said keeper toward the releasing position prior to dissolution of said substance.

2. In an inflatable life preserver, a detachable inflating device adapted to communicate therewith comprising a; hollow casing re-ciprocably' containing an: interchange- Obviously it able compressed gas cartridgera puncturing needle fixed within said casing; resilientlybiased 'meansincluding a reciprocal presser foot adapted for shifting said cartridge onto "said needle to puncture said cartridge and release saidgas; a keeper pin reciprocally extending into said casingand alternately movable to keeping and releasing positions w-ithrespect to said presser -foot;said keeper pin transmitting the bias of said pressure foot directly to said casing; means urging said keeper pin toward a releasing position; and a watersoluble substance disposed 1 externally of said casing and adapted to preclude movement of said keeper pin to the releasing position prior to dissolution of said substance.

3. Inan inflatable life preserver, a detachable inflating device adapted to communicate therewith comprising a hollow casing containing at least one interchangeable compressed gas cartridge; puncturing needles, one for each cartridge, fixed in said casing; a spring biased presser foot for each cartridge and adapted to effect movement thereof to puncture said cartridges on said needles and release said 1 gas; a keeperfor each said presser foot alternately movable to'v keeping and releasing positions; each said keeper constituting a pin disposed at right angles to the movement of said presser foot and extending into the casing in advance of said presser foot and adapted to transmit its bias-directly to said casing; spring means urging said keeper pin toward said releasing position; and a water soluble granular substance disposed externally of-said casing and adapted to preclude movement of said keepers to the releasing position prior to dissolution of said substance.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,627,998 Musser et al Feb. 10, 1953 2,675,143 Seemann Apr. 13, 1954 2,684,784 Fox July 27, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 788,421 France Oct. 10, 1935 

